Fundraiser to help students get to NY

A New York City-themed fundraiser is set to take place at the Camp Sherman Community Hall on Saturday, March 17, from noon to 3 p.m. The event will help Black Butte School eighth-grader Megan Ellsworth and seventh-grader McKenzie Banks as they plan a trip to the Big Apple.

Black Butte School has a long history of field trips that take students out of the forest and into large metropolitan areas. Students have made pilgrimages to the East Coast several times over the years and this year, the school's two middle schoolers get their turn.

The girls are traveling with language arts teacher Carol Dixon and Megan's mother, Heidi. The trip is set for the end of April; it fits with curriculum that the girls have studied this year. Dixon said the trip will be an exploration of modern history, incorporating visits to typical tourist spots and learning about immigration, with accommodations in an Upper West Side brownstone and lots of subway

travel.

Heidi Ellsworth, who is familiar with New York City, is acting as the main guide.

"These are hardworking, extremely responsible young ladies," said Dixon. "They have earned this trip."

As part of the fundraiser, the girls and Dixon created a unique quilt, which will be on display at the event and raffled on April 25. It is made up of squares portraying symbols that men who rode the rails, known as "hobos" - used during the Depression. The symbols represent a kind of language, used to communicate messages such as where to find a doctor, food, a sympathetic ear or a free phone. They also conveyed warnings about police, mean-spirited homeowners, bad water and the likelihood of arrest.

McKenzie and Megan, working with Camp Sherman resident Kathy Bourdage, learned to sew and helped Dixon with several of the quilt squares. Bourdage and former Camp Sherman resident Betty Farm are also helping the girls make potholders, available for sale at the fundraiser.

Lunch, with a New York menu, will be available for $10, and at 1:30 p.m. Megan and McKenzie share a short presentation about the trip. Raffle tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20.

For more information, call Carol Dixon at 541-595-1910.